Hazardous wastes in Zambian households : a pilot study

The study was based on visits to stores and major nonformal markets, focus group discussions with parents and children in three different environments, and interviews with a variety of concerned people. Although in some cases, especially with locally made products, the active ingredients were not indicated on the label, a synoptic survey of labels on consumer goods clearly shows that Zambians are exposed to a wide variety of HHPs. Examples of toxic or poisonous household products in Zambia include brake fluid, brass polish, fungicides, insecticides, fertilizers, rat and mouse poisons, cleaning fluids, medicines, medicated and skin lightening soaps, and bleaching creams. Examples of corrosive compounds on the local market include oven cleaners, drain and toilet cleaners, chlorine bleach cleaners, scouring powders, car batteries, and silver polish. Common local examples include chlorine-containing products (bleaches and oven cleaners) that can produce toxic products in reaction with ammonia. Examples of flammable household products are paint, solvents, oil, grease, and gasoline, while examples of explosive products include aerosol spray cans and propane cylinders. In all, the study identified well over 100 toxic compounds in common household products sold in the country. The total number of toxic compounds to which local consumers are exposed could be many times higher, and the human toxicity of some of the compounds is still unknown. Lists of these toxic compounds, as well as of the most toxic ingredients in antiseptic soaps, bleaching creams and skin toners, hair products, common pesticides, and cleansers are provided in the report. Many of the HHPs, including cadmium-nickel battery powder, automotive brake fluid, mercury-based skin-bleaching soaps, hydroquinone skin-bleaching creams, benzene-based creams, household insecticide sprays, auto batteries, diesel fuel, and lead-based petrol, are an integral part of the daily subsistence life of Zambians. Exposure to most of these HHPs can be reduced with public education and minor changes in behavior. Focus group and individual interviews, however, found that awareness of the health effects associated with exposure to these substances was very poor, and awareness of ways to handle or dispose of them even lower. Some of the hazardous substances, such as the mercurial soaps and hydroquinone creams, are illegal in Europe, but manufacturers continue to produce them for African markets. In Zambia, where they are also illegal, they have become widely available, but no one is reminding shopkeepers or consumers that they are illegal, pose a threat to human health, and contaminate the local environment. An inadvertent and rather usual pathway for exposure to cadmium and nickel is a game, called Kila, nearly universally known to Zambian children, which involves smashing one dry-cell battery at another stationary battery. Some people intentionally break the batteries open to obtain the black powder to use to polish shoes, color floor finishing, and sometimes to polish black boards at school. The number of people exposed to cadmium and nickel from such uses of battery contents is unknown. At every one of the focus groups someone knew of a child who had either gone into a coma or died from ingesting the cadmium-nickel powder. Information about the cause of these incidents, however, did not reach beyond immediate family members. Despite knowledge of the dangers of cadmium poisoning, few focus group participants knew of effective ways to dispose of batteries to prevent inadvertent contact by children, but parents in every group were extremely interested in learning more on the toxicity of these substances. All indications were that a simple education campaign on handling these common HHPs will be well received and used effectively by parents and communities. Tips on such a campaign are included, along with references.